- Finding Feature Information
- Prerequisites for MPLS Multilink PPP Support
- Information About MPLS Multilink PPP Support
- MPLS Layer 3 Virtual Private Network Features Supported for Multilink PPP
- MPLS Quality of Service Features Supported for Multilink PPP
- MPLS Multilink PPP Support and PE-to-CE Links
- MPLS Multilink PPP Support and Core Links
- MPLS Multilink PPP Support in a CSC Network
- MPLS Multilink PPP Support in an Interautonomous System
- How to Configure MPLS Multilink PPP Support
- Configuration Examples for MPLS Multilink PPP Support
- Additional References for MPLS Multilink PPP Support
- Feature Information for MPLS Multilink PPP Support
- Glossary
MPLS Multilink PPP Support
The MPLS Multilink PPP Support feature ensures that MPLS Layer 3 Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) with quality of service (QoS) can be enabled for bundled links. This feature supports Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) over Multilink PPP (MLP) links in the edge (provider edge [PE]-to-customer edge [CE]) or in the MPLS core (PE-to-PE and PE-to-provider [P] device).
Service providers that use relatively low-speed links can use MLP to spread traffic across them in their MPLS networks. Link fragmentation and interleaving (LFI) should be deployed in the CE-to-PE link for efficiency, where traffic uses a lower link bandwidth (less than 768 kbps). The MPLS Multilink PPP Support feature can reduce the number of Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) adjacencies and facilitate load sharing of traffic.
- Finding Feature Information
- Prerequisites for MPLS Multilink PPP Support
- Information About MPLS Multilink PPP Support
- How to Configure MPLS Multilink PPP Support
- Configuration Examples for MPLS Multilink PPP Support
- Additional References for MPLS Multilink PPP Support
- Feature Information for MPLS Multilink PPP Support
- Glossary
Finding Feature Information
Your software release may not support all the features documented in this module. For the latest caveats and feature information, see Bug Search Tool and the release notes for your platform and software release. To find information about the features documented in this module, and to see a list of the releases in which each feature is supported, see the feature information table at the end of this module.
Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.
Prerequisites for MPLS Multilink PPP Support
Information About MPLS Multilink PPP Support
- MPLS Layer 3 Virtual Private Network Features Supported for Multilink PPP
- MPLS Quality of Service Features Supported for Multilink PPP
- MPLS Multilink PPP Support and PE-to-CE Links
- MPLS Multilink PPP Support and Core Links
- MPLS Multilink PPP Support in a CSC Network
- MPLS Multilink PPP Support in an Interautonomous System
MPLS Layer 3 Virtual Private Network Features Supported for Multilink PPP
The table below lists Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Layer 3 Virtual Private Network (VPN) features supported for Multilink PPP (MLP) and indicates if the feature is supported on customer edge-to-provider edge (CE-to-PE) links, PE-to-provider (P) links, and Carrier Supporting Carrier (CSC) CE-to-PE links.
MPLS L3 VPN Feature |
CE-to-PE Links |
PE-to-P Links |
CSC CE-to-PE Links |
---|---|---|---|
Static routes |
Supported |
Not supported |
Not supported |
External Border Gateway Protocol (eBGP) |
Supported |
Not applicable to this configuration |
Supported |
Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System (IS-IS) |
Not supported |
Supported |
Not supported |
Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) |
Supported |
Supported |
Not supported |
Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP) |
Supported |
Supported |
Not supported |
Interprovider interautonomous (Inter-AS) VPNs (with Label Distribution Protocol [LDP]) |
Not applicable to this configuration |
Supported (MLP between Autonomous System Boundary Routers [ASBRs]) |
Not applicable to this configuration |
Inter-AS VPNs with IPv4 Label Distribution |
Not applicable to this configuration |
Supported (MLP between ASBRs)
|
Not applicable to this configuration |
CSC VPNs (with LDP) |
Not supported |
Not applicable to this configuration |
Supported |
CSC VPNs with IPv4 label distribution |
Supported |
Not applicable to this configuration |
Supported |
External and internal BGP (eiBGP) Multipath |
Not supported |
Not supported |
Not applicable to this configuration |
Internal BGP (iBGP) Multipath |
Not applicable to this configuration |
Not supported |
Not applicable to this configuration |
eBGP Multipath |
Not supported |
Not supported |
Not supported |
MPLS Quality of Service Features Supported for Multilink PPP
The table below lists the Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) quality of service (QoS) features supported for Multilink PPP (MLP) and indicates if the feature is supported on customer edge-to-provider edge (CE-to-PE) links, PE-to-provider (P) links, and Carrier Supporting Carrier (CSC) CE-to-PE links.
MPLS QoS Feature |
CE-to-PE Links |
PE-to-P Links |
CSC CE-to-PE Links |
---|---|---|---|
Default copy of IP Precedence to EXP bits and the reverse |
Supported |
Not supported |
Not supported |
Set MPLS EXP bits using the modular QoS Command-Line Interface (MQC) |
Supported |
Supported |
Supported |
Matching on MPLS EXP using MQC |
Supported |
Supported |
Supported |
Low Latency Queueing (LLQ)/Class-Based Weighted Fair Queueing (CBWFQ) support |
Supported |
Supported |
Supported |
Weighted Random Early Detection (WRED) based on EXP bits using MQC |
Supported |
Supported |
Supported |
Policer with EXP bit-marking using MQC-3 action |
Supported |
Supported |
Supported |
Support for EXP bits in MPLS accounting |
Supported |
Supported |
Supported |
MPLS Multilink PPP Support and PE-to-CE Links
The figure below shows a typical Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) network in which the provider edge (PE) device is responsible for label imposition (at ingress) and disposition (at egress) of the MPLS traffic.
In this topology, Multilink PPP (MLP) is deployed on the PE-to-customer edge (CE) links. The Virtual Private Network (VPN) routing and forwarding instance (VRF) interface is in a multilink bundle. There is no MPLS interaction with MLP; all packets coming into the MLP bundle are IP packets.
The PE-to-CE routing protocols that are supported for the MPLS Multilink PPP Support feature are external BGP (eBGP), Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), and Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP). Static routes are also supported between the CE and PE device.
Quality of service (QoS) features that are supported for the MPLS Multilink PPP Support feature on CE-to-PE links are link fragmentation and interleaving (LFI), header compression, policing, marking, and classification.
MPLS Multilink PPP Support and Core Links
The figure below shows a sample topology in which Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) is deployed over Multilink PPP (MLP) on provider edge-to-provider (PE-to-P) and P-to-P links. Enabling MPLS on MLP for PE-to-P links is similar to enabling MPLS on MLP for P-to-P links.
You employ MLP in the PE-to-P or P-to-P links primarily so that you can reduce the number of Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) adjacencies and facilitate the load sharing of traffic.
In addition to requiring MLP on the PE-to-P links, the MPLS Multilink PPP Support feature requires the configuration of an IGP routing protocol and the Label Distribution Protocol (LDP).
MPLS Multilink PPP Support in a CSC Network
The figure below shows a typical Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Virtual Private Network (VPN) Carrier Supporting Carrier (CSC) network where Multilink PPP (MLP) is configured on the CSC customer edge (CE)-to-provider edge (PE) links.
The MPLS Multilink PPP Support feature supports MLP between CSC-CE and CSC-PE links with the Label Distribution Protocol (LDP) or with external Border Gateway Protocol (eBGP) IPv4 label distribution. This feature also supports link fragmentation and interleaving (LFI) for an MPLS VPN CSC configuration. The figure below shows all MLP links that this feature supports for CSC configurations.
MPLS Multilink PPP Support in an Interautonomous System
The figure below shows a typical Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Virtual Private Network (VPN) interautonomous system (Inter-AS) network where Multilink PPP (MLP) is configured on the provider edge-to-customer edge (PE-to-CE) links.
The MPLS Multilink PPP Support feature supports MLP between Autonomous System Boundary Router (ASBR) links for Inter-AS VPNs with Label Distribution Protocol (LDP) and with external Border Gateway Protocol (eBGP) IPv4 label distribution.
How to Configure MPLS Multilink PPP Support
The tasks in this section can be performed on customer edge-to-provider edge (CE-to-PE) links, PE-to-provider (P) links, P-to-P links, and Carrier Supporting Carrier (CSC) CE-to-PE links.
- Enabling Cisco Express Forwarding
- Creating a Multilink Bundle
- Assigning an Interface to a Multilink Bundle
- Disabling PPP Multilink Fragmentation
- Verifying the Multilink PPP Configuration
Enabling Cisco Express Forwarding
Perform the following task to enable Cisco Express Forwarding. Cisco Express Forwarding is required for the forwarding of MLP traffic.
Multilink PPP requires the configuration of Cisco Express Forwarding. To find out if Cisco Express Forwarding is enabled on your device, enter theshow ip cef command. If Cisco Express Forwarding is enabled, you receive output that looks like the following:
Device# show ip cef Prefix Next Hop Interface 10.2.61.8/24 192.168.100.1 FastEthernet1/0/0 192.168.101.1 FastEthernet6/1/0
If Cisco Express Forwarding is not enabled on your platform, the output for the show ip cef command looks like the following:
Device# show ip cef %CEF not running
1.
enable
2.
configure terminal
3.
ip cef
4.
exit
DETAILED STEPS
Creating a Multilink Bundle
Perform this task to create a multilink bundle for the MPLS Multilink PPP Support feature. This multilink bundle can reduce the number of Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) adjacencies and facilitate load sharing of traffic.
1.
enable
2.
configure terminal
3.
interface multilink
group-number
4.
ip address
address mask [secondary]
5.
encapsulation
encapsulation-type
6.
ppp multilink
7.
end
DETAILED STEPS
Assigning an Interface to a Multilink Bundle
1.
enable
2.
configure terminal
3.
controller {t1 |
e1}
slot/port
4.
channel-group
channel-number timeslots range
5.
exit
6.
interface
serial
slot/subslot/port[.subinterface]
7.
ip route-cache
[cef]
8.
no ip address
9.
keepalive
[period [retries]]
10.
encapsulation
encapsulation-type
11.
ppp multilink group
group-number
12.
ppp multilink
13.
ppp authentication chap
14.
end
DETAILED STEPS
Disabling PPP Multilink Fragmentation
Perform this task to disable PPP multilink fragmentation. PPP multilink fragmentation is enabled by default.
Enabling fragmentation reduces the delay latency among bundle links, but adds some load to the CPU. Disabling fragmentation might produce better throughput.
If your data traffic is consistently of a similar size, we recommend disabling fragmentation. In this case, the benefits of fragmentation can be outweighed by the added load on the CPU.
1.
enable
2.
configure terminal
3.
interface
type number
4.
ppp multilink fragmentation disable
5.
end
DETAILED STEPS
Verifying the Multilink PPP Configuration
1.
enable
2.
show ip interface brief
3.
show ppp multilink
4.
show ppp multilink interface
interface-bundle
5.
show interface
type number
6.
show mpls forwarding-table
7.
exit
DETAILED STEPS
Configuration Examples for MPLS Multilink PPP Support
- Example: Configuring Multilink PPP on an MPLS CSC PE Device
- Example: Enabling Cisco Express Forwarding
- Example: Creating a Multilink Bundle
- Example: Assigning an Interface to a Multilink Bundle
Example: Configuring Multilink PPP on an MPLS CSC PE Device
The following example shows how to configure for Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) Carrier Supporting Carrier (CSC) provider edge (PE) device.
! mpls label protocol ldp ip cef ip vrf vpn2 rd 200:1 route-target export 200:1 route-target import 200:1 ! controller T1 1/0 framing esf clock source internal linecode b8zs channel-group 1 timeslots 1 channel-group 2 timeslots 2 no yellow generation no yellow detection ! interface Serial1/0:1 no ip address encapsulation ppp tx-ring-limit 26 ppp multilink ppp multilink group 1 ! interface Serial1/0:2 no ip address encapsulation ppp tx-ring-limit 26 ppp multilink ppp multilink group 1 ! interface Multilink1 ip vrf forwarding vpn2 ip address 10.35.0.2 255.0.0.0 no peer neighbor-route load-interval 30 ppp multilink ppp multilink interleave ppp multilink group 1 ! ! router ospf 200 log-adjacency-changes auto-cost reference-bandwidth 1000 redistribute connected subnets passive-interface Multilink1 network 10.0.0.7 0.0.0.0 area 200 network 10.31.0.0 0.255.255.255 area 200 ! ! router bgp 200 no bgp default ipv4-unicast bgp log-neighbor-changes neighbor 10.0.0.11 remote-as 200 neighbor 10.0.0.11 update-source Loopback0 ! address-family vpnv4 neighbor 10.0.0.11 activate neighbor 10.0.0.11 send-community extended bgp scan-time import 5 exit-address-family ! address-family ipv4 vrf vpn2 redistribute connected neighbor 10.35.0.1 remote-as 300 neighbor 10.35.0.1 activate neighbor 10.35.0.1 as-override neighbor 10.35.0.1 advertisement-interval 5 no auto-summary no synchronization exit-address-family
Example: Enabling Cisco Express Forwarding
The following example shows how to enable Cisco Express Forwarding for Multilink PPP (MLP) configurations:
Device> enable Device# configure terminal Device(config)# ip cef
Example: Creating a Multilink Bundle
The following example shows how to create a multilink bundle for the MPLS Multilink PPP Support feature:
Device(config)# interface multilink 1 Device(config-if)# ip address 10.0.0.0 10.255.255.255 Device(config-if)# encapsulation ppp Device(config-if)# ppp chap hostname group 1 Device(config-if)# ppp multilink Device(config-if)# ppp multilink group 1
Example: Assigning an Interface to a Multilink Bundle
The following example shows how to create four multilink interfaces with Cisco Express Forwarding switching and Multilink PPP (MLP) enabled. Each of the newly created interfaces is added to a multilink bundle.
interface multilink1 ip address 10.0.0.0 10.255.255.255 ppp chap hostname group 1 ppp multilink ppp multilink group 1 interface serial 1/0/0/:1 no ip address encapsulation ppp ip route-cache cef no keepalive ppp multilink ppp multilink group 1 interface serial 1/0/0/:2 no ip address encapsulation ppp ip route-cache cef no keepalive ppp chap hostname group 1 ppp multilink ppp multilink group 1 interface serial 1/0/0/:3 no ip address encapsulation ppp ip route-cache cef no keepalive ppp chap hostname group 1 ppp multilink ppp multilink group 1 interface serial 1/0/0/:4 no ip address encapsulation ppp ip route-cache cef no keepalive ppp chap hostname group 1 ppp multilink ppp multilink group 1
Additional References for MPLS Multilink PPP Support
Related Documents
Related Topic |
Document Title |
---|---|
Cisco IOS commands |
|
MPLS commands |
|
Basic MPLS VPNs |
“MPLS Virtual Private Networks” chapter in the MPLS Layer 3 VPNs Configuration Guide |
RFCs
RFCs |
Title |
---|---|
RFC 1990 |
The PPP Multilink Protocol (MP) |
Technical Assistance
Description |
Link |
---|---|
The Cisco Support and Documentation website provides online resources to download documentation, software, and tools. Use these resources to install and configure the software and to troubleshoot and resolve technical issues with Cisco products and technologies. Access to most tools on the Cisco Support and Documentation website requires a Cisco.com user ID and password. |
Feature Information for MPLS Multilink PPP Support
The following table provides release information about the feature or features described in this module. This table lists only the software release that introduced support for a given feature in a given software release train. Unless noted otherwise, subsequent releases of that software release train also support that feature.
Use Cisco Feature Navigator to find information about platform support and Cisco software image support. To access Cisco Feature Navigator, go to www.cisco.com/go/cfn. An account on Cisco.com is not required.
Feature Name |
Releases |
Feature Information |
---|---|---|
MPLS Multilink PPP Support |
Cisco IOS XE Release 2.1 Cisco IOS XE Release 3.9S |
The MPLS Multilink PPP Support feature ensures that MPLS Layer 3 Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) with quality of service (QoS) can be enabled for bundled links. This feature supports Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) over Multilink PPP (MLP) links in the edge (provider edge [PE]-to-customer edge [CE]) or in the MPLS core (PE-to-PE and PE-to-provider [P]device). In Cisco IOS XE Release 2.1, support was added for the Cisco ASR 1000 Series Routers. In Cisco IOS XE Release 3.9S, support was added for the Cisco ASR 903 Router. |
Glossary
bundle—A group of interfaces connected by parallel links between two systems that have agreed to use Multilink PPP (MLP) over those links.
CBWFQ—class-based weighted fair queueing. A queueing option that extends the standard Weighted Fair Queueing (WFQ) functionality to provide support for user-defined traffic classes.
Cisco Express Forwarding—A proprietary form of switching that optimizes network performance and scalability for networks with large and dynamic traffic patterns, such as the Internet, and for networks characterized by intensive web-based applications or interactive sessions. Although you can use Cisco Express Forwarding in any part of a network, it is designed for high-performance, highly resilient Layer 3 IP backbone switching.
EIGRP—Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol. An advanced version of the Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP) developed by Cisco. It provides superior convergence properties and operating efficiency, and combines the advantages of link-state protocols with those of distance vector protocols.
IGP—Interior Gateway Protocol. An Internet protocol used to exchange routing information within an autonomous system. Examples of common Internet IGPs include Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (IGRP), Open Shortest Path First (OSPF), and Routing Information Protocol (RIP).
IGRP—Interior Gateway Routing Protocol. An Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) developed by Cisco to address the issues associated with routing in large, heterogeneous networks. Compare with Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol (EIGRP).
IS-IS—Intermediate System-to-Intermediate System. An Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) link-state hierarchical routing protocol, based on DECnet Phase V routing, in which IS-IS devices exchange routing information based on a single metric to determine network topology.
LCP—Link Control Protocol. A protocol that establishes, configures, and tests data link connections for use by PPP.
LFI—ink fragmentation and interleaving. The LFI feature reduces delay on slower-speed links by breaking up large datagrams and interleaving low-delay traffic packets with the smaller packets resulting from the fragmented datagram. LFI allows reserve queues to be set up so that Real-Time Protocol (RTP) streams can be mapped into a higher priority queue in the configured weighted fair queue set.
link—One of the interfaces in a bundle.
LLQ—low latency queueing. A quality of service QoS queueing feature that provides a strict priority queue (PQ) for voice traffic and weighted fair queues for other classes of traffic. It is also called priority queueing/class-based weighted fair queueing (PQ/CBWFQ).
MLP—Multilink PPP. A method of splitting, recombining, and sequencing datagrams across multiple logical links. The use of MLP increases throughput between two sites by grouping interfaces and then load balancing packets over the grouped interfaces (called a bundle). Splitting packets at one end, sending them over the bundled interfaces, and recombining them at the other end achieves load balancing.
MQC—Modular QoS CLI. MQC is a CLI structure that allows users to create traffic polices and attach these polices to interfaces. MQC allows users to specify a traffic class independently of QoS policies.
NCP—Network Control Protocol. A series of protocols for establishing and configuring different network layer protocols (such as for AppleTalk) over PPP.
OSPF—Open Shortest Path First. A link-state, hierarchical Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) routing algorithm proposed as a successor to Routing Information Protocol (RIP) in the Internet community. OSPF features include least-cost routing, multipath routing, and load balancing. OSPF was derived from an early version of the IS-IS protocol.
PPP—Point-to-Point Protocol. A successor to the Serial Line Interface Protocol (SLIP) that provides device-to-device and host-to-network connections over synchronous and asynchronous circuits. PPP works with several network layer protocols (such as IP, Internetwork Packet Exchange [IPX], and AppleTalk Remote Access [ARA]). PPP also has built-in security mechanisms (such as Challenge Handshake Authentication Protocol [CHAP] and Password Authentication Protocol [PAP]). PPP relies on two protocols: Link Control Protocol (LCP) and Network Control Protocol (NCP).
RIP—Routing Information Protocol. A version of Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP) that is supplied with UNIX Berkeley Standard Distribution (BSD) systems. Routing Information Protocol (RIP) is the most common IGP in the Internet. It uses hop count as a routing metric.
Virtual bundle interface—An interface that represents the master link of a bundle. It is not tied to any physical interface. Data going over the bundle is transmitted and received through the master link.
WFQ—weighted fair queueing. A congestion management algorithm that identifies conversations (in the form of traffic streams), separates packets that belong to each conversation, and ensures that capacity is shared fairly among the individual conversations. WFQ is an automatic way of stabilizing network behavior during congestion and results in improved performance and reduced retransmission.
WRED—weighted random early detection. A queueing method that ensures that high-precedence traffic has lower loss rates than other traffic during times of congestion.